Dead of Winter

 

The end of January means the beginning of the dead month. That is not just my interpretation of this desolate time of year. Even the ancient Greeks considered February to be bad news. That's why it was bad luck to get married now. Lent, that season of fasting, is rooted in the prehistoric Greek traditions. (Prehistoric because we only know about them from pictographs instead of written words.) Valentine's Day began from the same festival. February 14th was the last chance to get married before the unlucky season began. The Chinese still consider the few days needed to adjust lunar new year to the solar calendar bad luck.

Of course Ground Hog's Day seems goofy enough, but it is based on a tradition of underground demons used to foretell the future. Of course whether the groundhog sees it shadow or not it will be six weeks before the first day of spring- check your calendar if you don't believe me. February 2nd is also Candlemas, now a Catholic holy day, but once a fire festival that marked the halfway point between solstice and equinox.

February is my least favorite month because of the weather. Gray, cold, rainy. No wonder we made it the shortest month of the year.

Nancy Sherer

 

 


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